Page 45 of Picking Up the Gauntlet

“All I ask is that you don’t play games with me, my lady. If so, we both know it will only end badly.”

“Games? What do you mean?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean.”

There was no doubt he was talking about their intimate time together in the forge, and not the joust. He thought she was playing with him, but actually, it was so much more than that. Raven wanted to tell him he was wrong. She wanted him to know the kisses between them were real. She also wanted to tell him how good it felt to be pressed up against him and to be held in his strong arms. Sadly, she realized it would do no good to mention this to him. It would only make things between them more awkward.

He was already taking a huge risk by agreeing to teach her to joust. If he knew why she really wanted to learn, he would most likely try to talk her out of her plan. And if he knew how infatuated she was with him, he would probably run the other way. Mayhap it was better to leave her feelings out of this and keep the truth between them unsaid.

Her heart about broke as she rode with him to town, because she knew he was right in calling it a game. After all, people like her weren’t allowed to have feelings for someone like him. If there was a way to change that, she would, but there wasn’t. Jonathon Armstrong was the first man she ever actually had romantic feelings for, but it would end right there.

Unfortunately, these feelings were all wrong between them, and certainly not allowed.

Chapter 11

“This is unbelievable,” said Raven, once they’d arrived in town and Jonathon took her out back. There, in an empty field behind the shop, was what looked to her like a tiltyard. “Why is this here?”

“I built it myself,” Jonathon told her, pride showing in his voice. “I constructed not only a quintain, but a place to joust with the knights when they come to pick up their armor.”

“You can’t do that, can you?”

“I assure the knights quality in my work. Each set of armor is constructed for each of them specifically. It has to fit like a glove. This is a way that they can test out their armor before actually paying me for it. I’ve been doing it for years and no one has complained about it yet.”

“But if they are wearing the armor you made especially for them, what do you wear?”

“I made myself a set of armor, as well as lances and a quintain.”

“Don’t you get hurt? I mean, jousting against knights?”

“Of course, I did. At first. But with testing all that armor, through the years I became good at the sport.”

“Do my father and brother know this is here?” She walked over to inspect the quintain. It looked sturdier than the ones at the castle.

“Nay, I don’t believe so. I’ve only repaired their armor, not made them new suits of armor, so there was no need to point this out.”

“It’s quite a risk for a commoner to be jousting, let alone have a tiltyard behind his shop, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so. However, it isn’t as if I’m posing a threat to any of the nobles. I am doing this only to help them.”

“You like to live dangerously, I see.”

He shrugged. “I suppose you aren’t the only one who takes risks, my lady.”

“Well, I have to say I agree, and believe it is a risk worth taking. Now, teach me to joust. I want to start right now.” She was so excited that she could barely stand it. This was the perfect place to practice without her father or brother discovering what she was doing. If they didn’t know about this tiltyard, when she came to town and used it, they couldn’t object to it. This would work out perfectly.

“You need armor to joust, my lady. Remember, I haven’t made yours yet,” he explained.

“I can at least start with mastering the quintain, can’t I? I don’t need armor for that, do I?”

“I suppose not. You can also practice with the rings.”

“Let’s do it,” she said. “I’ll get my horse and we’ll start.”

“Not so fast,” said Jonathon with a chuckle, liking Raven’s enthusiasm, but still being a little leery to give her what she wanted. “I have some other things to take care of in the shop first. Besides, if you want me to make your armor, you’re going to have to give me time to do it.”

“All right, I’ll wait,” she said, her eyes fastened on the equipment as she tried to hold in her bubbling enthusiasm. “How long will it take you? To finish up things in the shop, I mean. Mayhap I could start by myself.”

“Lady Raven, slow down,” he said, taking hold of her arm. She looked up to him with those beautiful eyes, causing his heart to about burst in his chest. “We need to take it slow.” He wasn’t talking about the joust anymore. He meant them, and she knew it.